Video Game Review: Horizon Zero Dawn

In January I started playing Horizon Zero Dawn while spending evenings on my sailboat in the Bay Area. That means I only got to play for an hour or two on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings. Last week I finally finished the game. I have about 100 hours into the game and completed all of the side missions except tutorials. I also only have a few other tasks until I complete all of the trophies.

A lot of my coworkers and friends have played Horizon Zero Dawn and encouraged me to do so. I hesitated playing it because I knew it would take a long time to complete. I am glad I did though as I thoroughly enjoyed the game. My youngest son also loves the game and I can see why. The story is very compelling and while I thought some of the tasks would get old, it turns out I needed that much time learning how to take down all the different machines available in the game. I also discovered that having the shield-weave armor really helps when trying to take down some very difficult enemies. If you decide to play the game, I highly recommend doing a bit of research and making sure you acquire it as early as possible.

Horizon Zero Dawn is an open-world game that allows you to go anywhere and do missions in almost any order. Towards the end of my game, I discovered there were plenty of earlier quests I hadn't done and so I went back and completed them before the final battle. Completing everything helps ease the difficulty towards the end.

Horizon Zero Dawn is rated T for Teen because of blood and violence. I enjoyed the game and highly recommend it for anyone over the age of 12. You can find a used copy of the game for around $25 and new for $30. It is well worth that price. I would also spend the extra money and get "The Frozen Wilds" DLC as I want to continue playing the game. I am a big fan of the PlayStation 4 console and this is a console exclusive so it is not available for the PC nor the Xbox platforms. That may be a deal breaker for some.

A Quick Review of Ubisoft's Steep Video Game

A few days ago I found myself with some spare time at home alone and so I loaded up Ubisoft's Steep video game on my PS4. I started playing it and wanted to provide a quick review before moving on to my next winter break game. I don't want to keep playing the game right now because it is something that will appeal to me more in the summer when I can't ski and need a good snow escape.

The game does a good job simulating snow. It is one of the best I have seen. The Frozen Wilds DLC from Horizon Zero Dawn looks very similar and this is because of the graphics processing power of the latest generation consoles. Otherwise it plays very similarly to any of the other skiing and snowboarding games that have been around for a decade. You have a number of challenges where you try to beat times or get scored for tricks. My first challenge was to beat a specific tine down a course. I also had to fly through a wing-suit course in another one. Something new that I did was to follow another skier and try to stay behind her as she went off cliffs and through trees. I enjoyed it a lot.

Steep is a great video game for anyone. You don't have to worry about violence or nudity. It has an ESRB rating of T for Teen because of language but I have yet to come across any. I am a fan of Ubisoft games and play a lot of them. This is definitely one I will keep playing. I will just wait until the summer months before finishing it. You can find the game for around $25 if you look for a deal and it is worth that price.

Christmas Break Video Game List

This afternoon I am taking a small break from working at home to watch my son play Horizon Zero Dawn with the downloadable content (DLC) The Frozen Wilds. It has me thinking about the games I want to play over the break. I made sure to pick up a number of games from the office before leaving and I will see how many I can get through during my time off. I will probably save the Horizon games until I head back to California as it looks like a good game to play during my evenings on the boat. Here is my list for the break:

Star Wars Battlefront II - I watched my son start out this game a few days ago and it looks very interesting. I must confess that I am a huge Star Wars fan and we will see if it lives up to my expectations.

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy - I am a huge fan of the Uncharted series and have played all of the other games. I have high expectations for this game and think I can get this completed before the break is over.

Steep - I have wanted to play this game for a long time and finally picked up a copy. Of course I will also be skiing Snowbird and Alta so we will see how much time I want to swap from real skiing to do virtual skiing.

I have a bunch of other games in my library but I think this is a good start for my break. We'll see how many I get played.